Flexible Licensing

As a leading software developer DAM since 2001, we have developed flexible licensing to meet the needs of our enterprise clientele.

NetXposure’s Enterprise Digital Asset Management solution is for organizations of all sizes that require a full- featured DAM solution with technology that is flexible, extensible, scalable and customizable. Enterprise DAM licenses and can be hosted by you, or in NetXposure’s full service data center. Alternatively, you can simply sign up for the DAM as a hosted service.

Many DAM vendors limit you by selling the DAM on a per-user-seat basis. At NetXposure, we think that undermines the value of the DAM: the more your users use the DAM, the more valuable it is. Therefore, we approach licensing differently than our competitors: we offer SaaS, as well as per-asset pricing.

Pricing Philosophy

There is no better indicator of the value of a DAM solution that its ability to efficiently handle large volumes of files — specifically, in terms of number of files and the data associated with those files. Though difficult to quantify with specificity, there is a monetary value associated with each asset that is managed in a DAM. This value is attributed to the preservation of the assets themselves, and the time saved in file management activities such as search and retrieval, verification, organization, repurposing, versioning, distribution, back-up and security. In addition, the technology required to manage large repositories is considerably more complex that of smaller repositories, which is why many low-end DAM solutions will have performance issues with large volumes of files. Therefore, a DAM that is engineered to handle large volumes of assets has considerably more value to an organization that one geared toward smaller repositories.

NetXposure’s DAM is engineered to seamlessly scale for large repositories, and the Asset Limit Based Pricing module is designed to provide maximum value for the dollar. First, all enterprise solutions are sold with an unlimited user license. As opposed to a “per seat” basis, an unlimited user license encourages organization-wide adoption of the solution. Second, the price for the core license is based on asset limit (number of files) with different price breaks at different levels (10,000, 100,000, one million, etc.). Asset Limit based pricing allows an organization to start small at a relatively low financial commitment, and then work into a larger financial commitment as the repository grows. This keeps the amount paid for the DAM consistent with the value it is providing the organization.

Asset Defined

An “asset” is defined as a single indexed record in the Digital Asset Management application, which is comprised of either an associated file, associated metadata, or both. An “asset” may have no files associated with it, or it may have multiple associated files. In some cases, an asset will begin its lifecycle as purely metadata. In other cases, an asset record may have various versions (a historical recording of the file over time), and/or may have various “view” files (typically different variations of the main “master” asset file. In both of these extremes however, there remains a single database and index record for that “asset”.

Scaled Pricing

The technology required to manage large repositories of files is considerably more complex than that of smaller repositories, which is why many low-end DAM solutions will have performance issues with large volumes of files. Typically these issues will be related to the system slowing down considerably or generating system errors with otherwise basic system functions. In addition, for every file that is ingested into the DAM, two proxy files are generated (thumbnail and medium resolution), embedded metadata is read and/or extracted, and all custom metadata attributes are indexed for keyword search and retrieval. As the volume of files scales past the 10,000’s to the 100,000’s or millions of files, the need for support resources to cover minor system fixes naturally scales as well. This need for additional support resources is compounded when there is a high number of simultaneous users accessing the system.

Therefore, a DAM that is engineered to handle large volumes of assets, with many simultaneous users has considerably more value to an organization than one geared toward smaller scale repositories. NetXposure has put a considerable amount of development work over the last six versions of our DAM solution to ensure that it is engineered to scale for large repositories. In addition, Asset Limit Licensing is designed to provide maximum value for the dollar, allowing an organization to start small at a relatively low financial commitment, and then work into a larger financial commitment as the repository grows. This keeps the amount paid for the DAM consistent with the value it is providing the organization. Finally, enterprise solutions are sold with an unlimited user license, which encourages organization-wide adoption of the solution for no additional “per seat” fee.

That being said, we understand there are situations for some organizations where Asset Limit Licensing simply does not work. In these cases, NetXposure will be flexible to the point of offering alternative pricing options, including CPU-based pricing, or other variations on pricing proposed by the customer. However, these options must still encompass the spirit of being compensated for the value of delivering a solution that meets the requirements of a large scale solution — both in terms of managing large volumes of files, and managing large numbers of simultaneous users.